by Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

by Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY Sports

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. â?? The New York Mets trumpeted Curtis Granderson's gregariousness and comfort with the news media as some of the qualities that made him so appealing to them.

The player that news reporters wanted to talk about, though, is more reticent and nowhere in sight.

The Mets' signing of Granderson to a four-year, $60 million contract, announced Tuesday at the winter meetings, should help boost an offense that ranked 11th in the National League in runs scored last season with an average of 3.82 a game.

Granderson, who is moving across town after spending the last four seasons with the Yankees, averaged 36 homers in his first three years in New York before injuries limited him to 61 games in 2013.

But the club still has a major hole at shortstop, and free agent Stephen Drew remains eminently available.

After the large investment in Granderson, do the Mets have the financial means to address shortstop with a player like Drew, who made $9.5 million on a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox last season and is surely looking for a long-term commitment?

"There are several players who would fit a need, and not all of them are in the free agent market, by any means,'' general manager Sandy Alderson said. "The financial consideration is always an important one, I don't care what team you're with, what player it is.''

To land Granderson, who turns 33 in March, the Mets had to stretch their offer to a fourth year. The lefty-swinging outfielder, one of the game's most accommodating players with the media, will likely become a central figure in the team's rebuilding along with franchise third baseman David Wright. In fact, Wright reached out to Granderson to sell him on the Mets.

Granderson said he was thrilled to stay in New York, where he has a youth-oriented foundation named Grand Kids.

He also tried to lure some of his former followers with the Yankees.

"A lot of the people I've met in New York have always said true New Yorkers are Mets fans,'' Granderson said. "So I'm excited to get a chance to see them all out there.''